


Despite the Distance

by Pangirl_Fangirl



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Afghanistan, Along the same arrow timeline, Around the globe, Boston, Central City, Hong Kong, Kinda, Lian Yu, Multi, Nanda Parbat, Sense8 AU, Starling City, The Glades, limited Laurel lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-05
Updated: 2015-09-10
Packaged: 2018-04-19 05:34:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4734476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pangirl_Fangirl/pseuds/Pangirl_Fangirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arrow Sense8 AU<br/>Oliver Queen is on Lian Yu, shipwrecked for the foreseeable future. Felicity Smoak is in Boston, at MIT. John Diggle is in Afghanistan, serving his third tour. Tommy Merlyn is circling the globe, hoping to find or forget about his dead friend. Roy Harper is in the Starling City, trying to survive the Glades. Tatsu Yamashiro is in Hong Kong, looking after her young son. Barry Allen is in Central City, finishing his degree in forensic science. Nyssa Al Ghul is in Nanda Parbat, faithfully training at her father's side.<br/>How these people, scattered across the globe, meet each other simply because the death of one woman, who grants them the power to connect together is a mystery in itself. These people come together, to protect each other, despite the distance that separates them and keeps each other safe from the bigger threat out there that wishes to eradicate them.<br/>Permanently.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Which Felicity first sees Oliver

When it first happened, Felicity thought she was hallucinating.

She had just left Cooper, her boyfriend's, party which had gotten way out of hand. It wasn't the intimate get together that Cooper had made it out to be.

Too many people had shown up, too much alcohol had been thrust her way, and too many people tried to cop a feel even with her boyfriend standing in the other room. The music had gotten so loud at one point and it had only added to the splitting headache she had since lunch. She had taken meds and drank so much water it seemed like she was peeing every ten minutes but the headache had yet to go away and Felicity was just so _done_ with the party.

So she had grabbed her stuff, kissed Cooper, grabbed a brownie and left. She was trying to juggle her keys and sweater while shoving the last of the brownie into her mouth. She managed to find the right key, blowing her dyed black hair out of the way to see and opened up the door to her dorm. She dropped her stuff on the tiny kitchen table and opened the door to her bedroom, ready to just sleep rather than have some fun on her laptop like she usually did. She took one step into her room and that's when everything shifted.

Felicity wasn't in the doorway to her room anymore. She was in a forest.

She whipped her head in either direction, turning and looking and only seeing green trees and uneven ground. She was sure she could smell the water, what kind of body of water, she didn't know. A cold breeze blew from the north, which could have either been explained by the fact she was near water or that wherever she was had a cold climate. The air was damp and misty but cold all the same. She wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm, the thick strapped tank top she was wearing was doing little to help with the cold.

She closed her eyes and tried not to panic. She was asleep or hallucinating, probably drugged up from the brownie that probably had pot in it.

But everything felt real.

The air, the hard ground, the smells. She reached a hand out and tentatively touched a nearby tree. The rough bark scraped her palm as she dragged her hand across the trunk. That felt real.

A snapping twig had Felicity's head snapping up and looking around. She held her breath and waited. And waited. The silence dragged on as she stayed frozen, not daring to move a muscle, not knowing what was out there.

Suddenly, a loud voice was yelling, "Run!" and a large explosion went off near where she was standing. She ducked, falling into a crouch with her hands over her head to protect herself.

And she was back in her room.

Just like that, the forest was gone and she was crouching on her carpeted floor. She looked around, still very confused before she whipped her head to the left, swearing she heard more yelling and explosions. They were muffled and sounded distant, making Felicity listen carefully to see if she could make out any of the yelling.

"Faster kid! We just need to get over that ridge."

"It's kind of hard to run and shoot so unless you want to get shot in the back of the head Slade, I suggest you stop telling me what to do!" They both sounded male, although one was a little more difficult to make out. Felicity guessed he had an accent. Gunshots joined the mix of noise and Felicity turned her head to the right-

And ended up back in the forest. Debris and broken up earth came raining down on her as the explosions continued. She stayed crouched by the tree, using it for shelter and support. She heard thumping foot steps, accompanied by gunshots and she looked up to see two men in black coming up over the small hill. The one man had black hair, tanned skin and a lot of scruff. He was covered in guns and belts, which held all sorts of weapons that Felicity couldn't identify. The second man was right behind him and was the one firing the gun behind him. This man was taller and younger with long, unkept, blonde hair. Felicity could tell he was young, probably around her age, despite the dirt, sweat and blood he was covered in. He was handsome, with a strong jaw and muscular torso that Felicity could see even with his sweater on.

They drew closer and Felicity cowered back against the tree, trying to make herself smaller and less visible. She could see the men whom the blonde was shooting at and they appeared to be better equipped that the two men. They all wore matching outfits, with guns and a tank, which was probably causing the explosions. Felicity guessed they were government but she didn't know what that made the two fleeing men. Escaped prisoners? Rouge agents? Thieves? Felicity didn't know and at that moment, she didn't care. She simply wanted to leave, to be back in her room.

The men were almost upon her and Felicity closed her eyes, cringing and waiting to be spotted. She heard the thumping footfalls get closer than...pass her? Her eyes snapped open and she watched as the older, black haired man run without pause, his back to her. He had ran right past, either without seeing her or without caring. Felicity waited as the other man caught up but he didn't just run by as his partner had.

He saw her.

Everything seemed to slow, the noise fading and dying out, as he ran past. She could tell he was confused like her. What was a girl dressed in black with black and purple hair doing, kneeling against a tree? Why was she here? His mouth fell open, Felicity assumed in shock, and her eyes went to his. They were a raging blue that stared intently back at her, searching her face for answers as he passed her. He looked almost, frightened, for her, like he knew that she was going to die, that the other men wouldn't simply pass her like he had. He also looked sad and remorseful, like he knew her fate but also knew that if he stopped to help her, he would get himself killed. He passed by, still looking back when another explosion erupted from the ground and Felicity cried out, arms going up to shield herself. The quick movement caused her to loose balance and tip away from the tree. She began to fall to the ground but before she hit, she noticed that the uniformed men passed by her with no glance her way.

They all seemed like they didn't see her at all.

She hit the ground and waited for one of them to notice her. To stop and turn and kill her for trespassing or seeing too much or being associated with the two men. But nothing happened. The noise stopped. The ground felt softer than hard packed soil.

She was in her room. Felicity pushed off the ground and looked around, waiting to see if she would be pulled back to that place, wherever it was. When nothing happened after a minute or two, Felicity stood on shaking legs, using the bed to support her. She toed off her boots and fell down on the bed, curling herself into a ball.

It had seemed real. Like she was there, watching those men run for their lives.

But it wasn't possible. You can't jump from one place to other in a matter of seconds. Unless Felicity miraculously had the power to teleport places, it wasn't possible.

So it wasn't real. She stared at her hand, positive she could still feel the tree bark beneath her fingers. She closed her eyes and reminded herself to never eat another brownie again unless she knew it was safe. That was one crazy pot brownie experience she never wanted to take part in again.

Only Felicity had no idea that this was only the start. That she still had five more people to meet. Five more people that, combined with her and the man in the forest, would create a new cluster of _sensates_.


	2. In Which Oliver goes Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One second Oliver's on Lian Yu. The next, he's home.

When it first happened, Oliver thought he was dreaming.

He was sitting inside the plane wreckage that was serving as shelter for him and Slade while they were on the island and rubbing his sore muscles. He had spent the day planning their attack on Friers camp and when he wasn't planning, he was training with Slade. It was brutal and Oliver got hit with more sticks than he would have liked. But he was improving and that was the important thing.

Slade had told him to get some rest for the attack tomorrow, but with his aching back, he just couldn't sleep. So he decided to pace the inside the plane, to try and tired himself out somehow. He was mindful of Slade, sleeping a few feet away but paced the whole interior anyway.

He was turning to face back around and walk back to the other side of the plane when he suddenly wasn't in the plane anymore.

He was in the Merlyn Manor.

Oliver recognized it easily, having spent countless hours and even days at a time there. The white carpeted floor he had spilled too many drinks on. The brown walls he had used to keep himself upright after one too many. The couch he had made out with several girls on. The fireplace that sat under the TV that he and Tommy had used to make s'mores when they were young. The pictures that lined the walls, that captured the moments between Oliver and Tommy, even some with Thea and one that was solely of the Queen family.

Oliver was standing in the entertainment room, just behind the couch, which sat in front of the large TV. A random action movie that he couldn't place was playing and the loud explosions were booming out of the speakers.

Not that Oliver was paying attention. He was more fixated on the figure sitting in front of him. The mop of black hair was unmistakable and it completely floored Oliver.

It had to be a dream. There was no way he was standing in the Merlyn Manor, with Tommy sitting, back facing him, right there. Tommy, who he hadn't seen in months. Who he had thought about almost every day, like he did with all of his family members. His best friend, his  _brother,_ was sitting there, close enough to touch.

It all seemed so real. The carpeted floor under his boots. The noise of the TV. The familiar pine smell of the house. God, how many things he had taken for granted, from a warm bed and food, all the way down to soft, carpeted floors and the smell of Tommy and his home. His eyes went back to the pictures, seeing one of both him and Tommy holding up a young, eight year old Thea, who was grinning at the camera with gaps from losing her baby teeth. Tears flooded into his eyes, tears that haven't happened since Yao Fe switched sides, since he realized he was on his own and that he would have to be stronger. 

It seemed trivial really. That the thing that got Oliver the most was Thea and her missing teeth. How many more teeth had she lost since he left? How many times had she tried to tie her tooth to a string, then to the door, but was too afraid to do it because Oliver wasn't there to hold her hand like always? How many times has Tommy had to step in and be an older brother for her, because Oliver wasn't there?

This wasn't a dream. It was some kind of sick joke. A trick that his mind was playing on him. Oliver wasn't in the mode for tricks. He had already had enough nightmares about his family and never getting back to them. Already had dreams about the things and the people he might never see again. Though it seemed real, it couldn't be. Oliver knew that. So he extended a hand in confidence and touched the back of the soft, knowing it wouldn't be real.

But it was. Or at least, it felt like it did. The couch was soft and firm under his fingers, the dark brown material shifting with his moving fingers. The couch was  _solid_. Oliver looked away from the amazing sight of the very real piece of furniture and back at Tommy's head. He had barely moved, like he had no idea someone was behind him. Because Tommy felt safe. He had no reason to fear that someone had gotten into the house. Oliver wondered if he would ever be like that again. Not having to constantly look behind you or to always be on edge. Tommy was calm and relaxed, feeling perfectly content and safe.

Oliver knew what he had to do. This was real, he was here in the Manor. So he did what he had been craving to do since he ended up on Lian Yu. He touched someone he knew.

His fingers left the couch back and reached out hesitantly to Tommy's arm, which was thrown over the back of the couch with ease. His fingers touched his bare bicep, touched his warm, real, solid flesh,  _touched_  Tommy, his name leaving his mouth like a prayer, filled with hope and longing.

"Tommy." Tommy's head whipped around as he quickly pulled his arm away from the unwanted touch. Oliver only caught a slight glimpse of Tommy's face, his crazy hair over his forehead, his lips parted in surprise, his high cheekbones and strong jaw, his scared but somewhat  _hopeful_  blue eyes, before he was back in the plane.

Oliver turned side to side frantically, like it would somehow bring him back to Tommy, back to the place he considered his surrogate home. But unfortunately that didn't happen. He was back to the place he dreaded, back to the cold and the dangerous surroundings that were the island. 

Oliver stumbled forward, legs giving out in despair, landing him on his makeshift bed. He stared at his fingers with longing for something he had for a split second. Human contact. Yes, he had met Yao Fe and yes, he had met Slade but what Oliver craved was the touch of someone familiar. Someone he knew and trusted completely. 

Someone like Tommy. He had him, right there in front of him and he managed to somehow let it slip through his grasp.

Oliver curled his fingers into a fist and laid down on the bed, cradling his hand to his chest as the tears slipped out of his eyes. Thankfully sleep came quickly and when he woke the next morning, he chalked everything up to a dream.

What he didn't know was Tommy had caught a glimpse of him too. A quick-as-a-flash look at Oliver, standing behind him in a black outfit, with long messy hair. He looked different than when he left, but Tommy knew his best friend.

"Oliver?" Tommy said out loud into the empty room. He was sure he saw him. So sure that he spend the next hour combing through the Merlyn house just to see if he was there. He found nothing but Tommy knew what he had saw. A glance of his friend in a state he never would have imagined in a million years. Yes, Tommy knew what he saw.

But he also knew it couldn't be real.


End file.
